Ryan Gosling beat up for months

Ryan Gosling got ''beat up for three months'' on the set of 'Only God Forgives'.

The Canadian actor trained in Muay Thai - a notoriously brutal Thai martial art similar to kickboxing - to take on the lead role in the film, but when it came to shooting, director Nicolas Winding Refn changed the plot.

Ryan explained to website Digital Spy: ''Nicolas had an actor that was gonna be in that film, and the actor had to do another film, so I said 'OK I'll do it.

''And he said 'OK, but you have to learn Muay Thai.' So I trained for four moths and showed up in Thailand. Then when we got there, we realised it was really bit cheesy to have a white guy turn up in Thailand and start kicking ass, it wasn't very realistic, like a Van Damme movie.

''So then Nicholas thought, 'Oh no, it's better if you just get your ass kicked'. So I never actually got to use any of my Muay Thai, I just got beat up for three months.''

In the film Ryan plays the unwilling owner of a Thai boxing club, who is forced to avenge his brother's death by his mother, played by Kristin Scott Thomas.

When he's not getting beaten up or practicing his Muay Thai skills, Ryan has recently said he loves nothing better than knitting, a pastime usually associated with old women.

He said: ''I did this scene in 'Lars and the Real Girl' where I was in a room full of old ladies who were knitting, and it was an all-day scene, so they showed me how. It was one of the most relaxing days of my life.

''If I had to design my perfect day, that would be it. And you get something out of it at the end. You get a nice present. For someone who wants an oddly shaped, off-putting scarf.''